The incorporation of additives into “neat” thermoplastic polymeric host materials (i.e., polymeric materials containing no additives) so as to achieve desired physical properties is well known. For example, it is well known to incorporate additives such as colorants, stabilizers, delusterants, flame retardants, fillers, antimicrobial agents, antistatic agents, optical brighteners, extenders, processing aids and other functional additives into polymeric host materials in an effort to “engineer” desired properties of the resulting additive-containing polymeric host material. Such additives are typically added prior to shaping the polymeric material, for example, prior to spinning or molding (e.g., extrusion, injection, or blow-molding) operations.
Conventional methods of incorporating additives into a neat thermoplastic polymeric material have a number of shortcomings including, but not limited to, (1) inadequate distribution of the additive within the thermoplastic polymeric material, and (2) the inability to incorporate a desired amount of additive into the thermoplastic polymeric material without adding an undesirable amount of dispersing agent into the thermoplastic polymeric material. Efforts continue in an attempt to incorporate a desired amount of additive into a thermoplastic polymeric material while optimizing the distribution of the additive within the thermoplastic polymeric material and minimizing the amount of dispersing agent added to the thermoplastic polymeric material.
What is needed in the art is an improved method of incorporating additives into a neat thermoplastic polymeric material.